The Suffering Tree - Softcover

Cosimano, Elle

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1484787501 ISBN 13: 9781484787502

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2018

Synopsis

"It's dark magic brings him back."

Tori Burns and her family left D.C. for claustrophobic Chaptico, Maryland, after suddenly inheriting a house under mysterious circumstances. That inheritance puts her at odds with the entire town, especially Jesse Slaughter and his family it's their generations-old land the Burns have "stolen." As the suspicious looks and muttered accusations of her neighbors build, so does the pressure inside her, and Tori returns to the pattern of self-harm that landed her in a hospital back in D.C. It all comes to a head one night when, to Tori's shock, she witnesses a young man claw his way out of a grave under the gnarled oak in her new backyard.

Nathaniel Bishop may not understand what brought him back, but it's clear to Tori that he hates the Slaughters for what they did to him centuries ago. Wary yet drawn to him by a shared sense of loss, she gives him shelter. But in the wake of his arrival comes a string of troubling events including the disappearance of Jesse Slaughter's cousin that seem to point back to Nathaniel.

As Tori digs for the truth and slowly begins to fall for Nathaniel she uncovers something much darker in the tangled branches of the Slaughter family tree. In order to break the curse that binds Nathaniel there and discover the true nature of her inheritance, Tori must unravel the Slaughter family's oldest and most guarded secrets. But the Slaughters want to keep them buried... at any cost.

About this title

About the Author

Elle Cosimano grew up in the Washington, D.C., suburbs, the daughter of a maximum security prison warden and an elementary school teacher who rode a Harley. As a teen, she spent summers working on a fishing boat in the Chesapeake Bay. A failed student of the hard sciences, she discovered her true calling in social and behavioral studies while majoring in psychology at St. Mary's College of Maryland. Fifteen years later, Elle set aside a successful real-estate career to pursue writing. Her debut novel, Nearly Gone, was an Edgar Award Finalist, winner of the International Thriller Writers' Best Young Adult Novel Award, and winner of the inaugural Mathical Book Award recognizing mathematics in children's literature. Elle lives with her husband and two sons in Mexico, somewhere between the jungle and the sea. Website: www.ellecosimano.com. Twitter:@ellecosimano.

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—Tori Burns and her family have inherited a house from a complete stranger on the eve of being evicted from their own home. Without question, they pack their things and move from Washington, DC, to Chaptica, MD. However, Chaptica is not the promised land the Burnses thought it would be. Tori starts having nightmares about a past she does not understand. The house in which they now live once belonged to the Slaughter family. For this reason, the Burnses are treated as interlopers. They also inherit 20 acres of land and a mysterious graveyard with a gigantic tree standing guard. A body crawls out of an ancient grave and introduces himself to Tori as Nathaniel Bishop, an indentured servant who lived on her land more than 300 years ago. Tori and Nathaniel uncover the truth about the Slaughter family, Tori's nightmares, Nathaniel's origin, and the land the Burnses have inherited. Cosimano tells this story by switching among Nathaniel's first-person flashbacks, Tori's nightmares, and details about what is currently happening to both of them. The pacing seems rough at first. Once the plot unfolds, however, the purpose of the flashbacks becomes apparent, as they reflect the tension between Tori and Nathaniel. The characters are well developed, and the plot is fresh. Overall, this book is enjoyable and will keep readers riveted. VERDICT Recommended for YA suspense collections.—Jeni Tahaney, Duncanville High School Library, TX

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1484787501
• ISBN 13: 9781484787502
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368